NC Gov. Cooper calls for special session to deal with Hurricane Florence recovery

Gov. Cooper visits with evacuees at UNC hurricane shelter

Governor Roy Cooper visited those seeking refuge from Hurricane Florence at a recently-opened shelter at UNC-Chapel Hill on Sunday, Sept. 16, many of whom are members of the Congolese refugee community in New Bern.

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Governor Roy Cooper visited those seeking refuge from Hurricane Florence at a recently-opened shelter at UNC-Chapel Hill on Sunday, Sept. 16, many of whom are members of the Congolese refugee community in New Bern.

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Gov. Roy Cooper called Thursday for state lawmakers to return to Raleigh for a special session to fund initial recovery needs from Hurricane Florence.

“As I’ve traveled around the state surveying damage and meeting with people who have lost everything, it’s clear that the destruction in eastern North Carolina is historic,” Cooper said in a statement Thursday night. “Now is the time to come together and begin the work of rebuilding our communities and making families whole.”

Cooper wants the General Assembly to return Oct. 9, according to a release from his office.

The storm has killed 31 people in North Carolina, bringing devastation to many communities, widespread flooding and road closures and several environmental concerns.

The legislature returned to Raleigh two months after Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina in 2016 to pass disaster relief bills.

Cooper has the authority to handle immediate spending, a spokesman for Senate leader Phil Berger told The News & Observer before the storm made landfall on Friday, Sept. 14 near Wrightsville Beach: “Governor Cooper has the authority to spend emergency funds and shift money from other parts of the state budget as needed to cover disaster-related expenses, and we support the state’s response efforts.”

Republicans control both chambers in the General Assembly. Cooper, a Democrat, is in his first term as governor.

In addition to financial decisions, state lawmakers may provide an exemption for school districts in the areas hardest hit by Florence.

State law requires schools to be in session for 185 days or 1,025 hours of instruction per year. Some state leaders, including N.C. Schools Superintendent Mark Johnson and House Speaker Tim Moore, want to ease statewide attendance requirements for counties affected by the storm, The N&O reported Wednesday.

“So many families’ lives are being uprooted right now and anything we can do to make their lives easier, we need to do,” Moore said in a statement.